International PEN welcomes the opportunity provided by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights to comment on the situation in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, about which it has serious concerns. This document provides a general comment on the current situation of dissident writers, religious leaders, print media and censorship, and case samples of occasions where individuals have had their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and religion severely restricted.

General comment

International PEN expresses its extreme concern regarding the Vietnamese’s position towards the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which it is a state party, and its failure to abide by pledges it made to the international community before it assumed its role as a non-permanent member to the Security Council, in September 2007. Recently, at the General Debate of the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Viet Nam reiterated its will to uphold the principles of the UN Charter. Instead, International PEN has observed the pattern of a campaign to silence dissent in the printed media and the Internet, and to suppress peaceful disagreement and political opposition. Harsh prison sentences are handed down in Vietnamese courts, in some cases to be served in forced labour camps, after which individuals are placed under residential surveillance, where the restriction to their rights persists. These and other concerns are part of a Resolution passed by the Assembly of Delegates of International PEN in September 2008. The Resolution also made recommendations for action, and was sent to the Vietnamese authorities urging them to take action according to the recommendations stated in the document. The text of the Resolution is attached to this submission.

Freedom of expression and opinion – Article 19 ICCPR

Many writers, journalists and dissidents currently imprisoned in Viet Nam , have been jailed for expressing their opinions or dissent publicly, publishing underground or on the Internet. Those who are not in prison, but decide to exercise their right to freedom of expression, are often subject to regular interrogations and house arrest. In one case, the daily interrogation lasted for three weeks, after which the person was placed under residence surveillance and was banned from publishing essays on-line.

In addition, the media is tightly controlled by the state, therefore there is no public space to call for democracy, to expose corruption, to urge the respect for human rights, or to criticise government policies without risking prosecution and imprisonment.

For instance, writing on issues of land rights and supporting farmers’ protests against the confiscation on their land by local authorities can have serious consequences. As in the case of a member of the United Workers-Farmers Organisation, a lawyer and internet writer, who was convicted to five years imprisonment for ‘endangering state security’ and ‘spreading anti-government propaganda’. Another activist and dissident writer spent two periods in psychiatric detention in 2007 and 2008, before being forced into exile. It is believed that she was targeted for her critical online writings and dissident activities, for her reporting on issues of social injustice and human rights violations, and for her defence of destitute women farmers made homeless by illegal land expropriation. These are just samples of the relentless intimidation and suppression that continues to be commonplace in Viet Nam for individuals exercising their right to freedom of expression and opinion.

Freedom of religion – Article 18 ICCPR

Viet Nam continues to suppress advocates for freedom of religion. Many religious figures have to undergo long periods of imprisonment, as well as residential surveillance. Such is the situation of some prominent leaders of the banned United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), who remain under ‘residential surveillance’ for calling on the government to respect religious freedom and human rights. One of the most appalling cases, is that of Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, who died on 5 July 2008, aged 87, after a long illness. Leader of the UBCV and author of books on Buddhism and Oriental philosophy, Venerable Thich Huyen Quang was also a respected religious scholar. Since 1982 he had been detained under house arrest for alleged "anti-government activities", but in spite of this he continued his public appeals for religious freedom and freedom of speech. Since 2003 he had been held incommunicado at Nguyen Thieu Monastery, in Binh Dinh Province , where his funeral was held under tight security.

Freedom of association – Article 22 ICCPR

According to International PEN’s information, individuals have also been imprisoned for their support to political groups opposing the government or for their criticism of governmental policies. This is the case of the co-editor of the on-line magazine Tu Do Ngôn Luan (Free Speech), who is serving an eight-year prison sentence, and a further five years of probationary detention. Similarly, other arrests stem from writings in support of democratic movements such as ‘Bloc 8406’ or the ‘Vietnamese Populist Party’.

Crackdown on dissent

Whilst the situation in Viet Nam has been a concern of International PEN for many years, we have observed that since the second half of 2006 repression on freedom of expression has intensified. In the lead up to the Asia-pacific Economic Forum (APEC) held in Hanoi , in November that year, various dissident writers were subject to police harassment, brief detention and house arrest. Our records of 2007 and 2008 show similar patterns of repression. The most recent being the crackdown was in early September 2008, when a number of writers and human rights activists were detained and interrogated by the authorities. As of October 2008, some of the detainees remain held at the B14 Labour Camp in Ha Dong province. Others were released, but remain under residential surveillance. The latest International PEN appeal on this crackdown is attached to this document.

Legislation used to suppress freedom of expression

The Vietnamese Constitution in its Article 69, guarantees freedom of expression and opinion, as well as freedom of the press and freedom of speech for all. Similarly, Article 70 of the Constitution recognises the right to freedom of religion. However, Viet Nam has other laws which are used to further restrict these freedoms. Dissent is often suppressed by the Vietnamese Penal Code and imprisonment terms are handed down, commonly, on charges of ‘conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam’ (Article 88, Penal Code), which provides for up to twenty years in prison; or ‘Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens’ (Article 258, Penal Code), with a maximum prison sentence of seven years. These harsh prison sentences are served in labour camps under harsh prison conditions, and prisoners are often held in solitary confinement, without adequate medical care. Following their release, former prisoners, remain under heavy restrictions, and as part of their sentence they must also serve additional years of residential surveillance. This is regulated under Article 38 of the Penal Code, which forces a convicted person to remain under ‘probation’ on residence surveillance from one to five years. During this period, individuals have a number of their civil rights deprived, and can be banned from practicing certain occupations. This is often the case for writers, journalists, dissidents and religious figures.

Censorship

Viet Nam’s process of authorisation of publications has been reported as extremely complex, as each piece must go through a thorough screening mechanism and registration before printing. This has forced some writers and publishers to use underground means to print their material and distribute it amongst the population. This is the case, for instance, of the poetry group ‘Open Your Mouth’, which utilises street slang. The group’s material has not been accepted by the official publishing houses, and therefore it has turned to alternative ways to circulate their poetry. In the same way, their poetry readings were reportedly closed down by the police. Members of this group are under heavy surveillance, and are not able to find housing or employment.

Internet surveillance is another means to censor dissent. This situation is well reported with high numbers of cyber-dissidents or Internet writers harassed for posting critical comments of the government or for participating in on-line pro-democracy forums. One of these Internet writers was arrested earlier this year under charges of ‘abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interest of the state’, while participating in a chat-room at an Internet café. He was handed down a six-year prison sentence for ‘conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam’.

Moreover, permanent fear of persecution, has constrained writers and journalists to self-censorship, which impacts negatively on the civil society as a whole, and does not contribute to the promotion of democracy and human rights.

“People’s tribunals” – Article 14 ICCPR

International PEN is aware of the existence of the so called “people’s tribunals” where members of the public, sometimes in their hundreds, are gathered by government agents to form orchestrated mock trials to criticise dissidents. Individuals are denounced before these “people’s tribunals”, they are blamed and humiliated, and finally 'sentenced’ in total disregard of the principles of fait trial. This was the case of a lawyer and cyber-dissident who, in February 2007, after being under heavy surveillance, was briefly detained and later subject to criticism by a “people’s tribunal” in which 200 residents from a district of Hanoi were reportedly mobilised by the authorities to insult and denounce him for being a ‘traitor’. The “people’s tribunal” ruled that this person should lose the right to work as a lawyer and that his office should be closed. Afterwards, in May 2007, he was additionally sentenced by the Hanoi People’s Court to five years in prison on charges of ‘hostile propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’ for his dissident activities with the pro-democracy movement “Bloc 8406” , including the signing of a petition under his real name.

Final comment

International PEN considers that the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam falls well short of its commitments under Article 19 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and its pledges made before the international community, as the pattern of restriction to the right to freedom of expression and opinion continues. It requests that the Universal Period Review of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam’s adherence to the human rights instruments to which it is committed takes into consideration these concerns and requests the Vietnamese authorities to:

Release, immediately and unconditionally, all those held for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and opinion;

Bring to an end the pattern of imprisonment and residence surveillance against all those who hold dissenting views;

Lift immediately and unconditionally all restrictions imposed on former prisoners of conscience, including those who have served prison terms on pursue of their right to freedom of expression.

Stop the persistent harassment of religious figures and anyone who calls for freedom of religion and human rights in Viet Nam ;

Abolish practices that allow for censorship and restrictions on freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of the press, freedom to create and to publish, the right to be informed by all means including the Internet, and freedom of association,

Discontinue the practices within “people’s tribunals” which do not respond to international standards of fair trial set forth in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Ensure that conditions in prisons and camps are improved, pending the release of all prisoners of conscience, and allow for adequate medical treatment for those in need.

Appendix to the Contribution to the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism

5th Session of the Working Group of the UPR (4 – 15 May 2009)

Submission on the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

30 October 2008

Case samples

International PEN has been monitoring repression of writers and journalists in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and concludes, as evidenced by the case samples, that rather than improving, freedom of expression in Viet Nam continues to be disregarded by the authorities. The following are a list of International PEN’s main cases of writers imprisoned in Viet Nam as of October 2008.

DANG Phuc Tue (religious name: Thich Quang Do): Buddhist monk, writer, scholar. Secretary General of the outlawed Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma, United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). He was arrested on 9 October 2003, together with a delegation of nine UBCV leaders, and taken away for interrogation. Thich Quang Do was then placed under house arrest in Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City , where he remains. Previously, on 27 June 2003, he was released from a twenty-seven month detention order. Thich Quang Do has spent most of the last twenty years in detention or under residential surveillance because of his campaign for religious freedom and free expression.

LE Thi Cong Nhan (f) and NGUYEN Van Dai: Lawyer and cyber dissident, and journalist respectively, were arrested at their homes on 6 March 2007. They were accused of ‘hostile propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’ for their dissident activities with the pro-democracy movement ‘’Bloc 8406’’, including the recent signing of a petition. They were sentenced to four years and five years in prison respectively, reduced by one year each on appeal. In January 2008 Le Thi Cong Nhan was transferred to Trai Giam detention camp #5, Cao Thinh village, Ngog Lac District, Thanh Hoa Province , south Vietnam , and Nguyen Van Dai was transferred to K1 Detention Camp, Ba Sao Village, Kim Bang District, Ha Nam Province, 80km south of Ha Noi. Nguyen Van Dai is one of the leaders of the democracy movement ‘’Bloc 8406’’ and regularly posted pro-democracy essays on foreign websites. He started a web-log on the Reporters Sans Frontiers web-log platform shortly before his arrest (http://nguyenvandai.rsfblog.org). He and fellow lawyer Le Thi Cong Nhan have been under heavy surveillance for some time for their dissident activities, and were briefly detained on 3 February 2007 and held for 48 hours. Nguyen Van Dai was reportedly subjected to criticism by a ‘popular court’ on 8 February 2007, in which 200 residents from a district of Hanoi were mobilised by the authorities to insult and denounce him for being a ‘traitor’.

NGUYEN Van Hai (aka Nguyen Hoang Hai/Dieu Cay): Independent journalist and blogger, was arrested on 19 April 2008, after he participated in protests in Ho Chi Minh City earlier in 2008. There are reports that he had been closely watched by the police and threatened with death prior to his arrest. On 10 September 2008 he was sentenced to two and a half years-imprisonment by the Vietnamese People’s Court at Ho Chi Minh city for alleged tax fraud, although he is widely believed to be targeted for his criticism of Vietnamese government policy. He is known for his critical internet postings calling for greater democracy and human rights in Vietnam and his participation in protests against Chinese foreign policy. Dieu Cay was one of the founding members of the Club of Free Journalists (Cau Lac Bo Nha Bao Tu Do) in 2006.

NGUYEN Viet Chien and NGUYEN Van Hai: Reporters for the Vietnamese language newspapers Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre respectively, were arrested on 13 May 2008. Their detention was linked to their reports on high-level corruption in the so-called “PMU- 18” scandal in 2006. On 15 October 2008 the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced both journalists under Article 258 of the Penal Code, for ‘abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interest of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens’. Nguyen Viet Chien was given a two-year imprisonment sentence after pleading his innocence, while Nguyen Van Hai was handed down a non-custodial two-year re-education sentence, after pleading guilty.

NGUYEN Van Ly: Priest, scholar, essayist and co-editor of the underground online magazine Tu Do Ngôn luan (Free Speech), was arrested on 19 February 2007 during an ‘administrative check’ at the archdiocesan building where he lives in the city of Hue . Two other editors of Tu Do Ngôn luan, Father Chan Tin and Father Phan Van Loi, were reportedly also placed under house arrest. On 30 March 2007 a People’ Court in Hue ( Central Vietnam ) sentenced Father Nguyen Van Ly to eight years in prison and five years of probationary detention for ‘conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’, under Article 88 of the Penal Code.

TRAN Quoc Hien: Internet writer and human rights lawyer, was arrested on 12 January 2007, the day after being nominated as the spokesperson for the Workers-Farmers Organisation (UWFO), an organisation which represents workers and farmers’ rights and which is not recognised by the government. He was charged with ‘spreading anti-government propaganda’ on the Internet and ‘endangering state security’. He was found guilty of both charges by a court in Ho Chi Minh City on 15 May 2007, following a trial that reportedly only lasted four hours. Tran Quoc Hien is known for his critical writings published on the Internet, including a short story The Tail about the experience of life under surveillance. He is a member of the pro-democracy movement ’Bloc 8406’ .

TRUONG Minh Duc: Freelance journalist and political activist, member of Bloc 8406 and the Vietnamese Populist party, was arrested on 5 May 2007. He was given a five-year prison sentence on 28 March 2008, for ‘taking advantage of democratic rights to act against the state’s interest’ and ‘receiving money from abroad to support complaints against the state’, under Article 258 on the Penal Code. Truong Minh Duc is known for his articles on corruption and abuse of power since 1994 for various newspapers, under different pseudonyms. Among the pieces he wrote, and which are said to have incriminated him are the following articles: ‘To Point at Corruption’s Mandarins in Kien Giang Province ’; ‘Court of Tyrannous, Influential and Powerful Notables; and ‘Province Chairman, Inspectors in collusion with Judiciary System’.

International PEN

NGO in Consultative Status with ECOSOC

Appendix to the Contribution to the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism

5th Session of the Working Group of the UPR (4 – 15 May 2009)

Submission on the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

The Assembly of Delegates of International PEN, meeting at its 74th Congress in Bogota , Colombia , 17-22 September 2008

Deplores that since the 73rd International PEN Congress in Dakar , Senegal , the situation of independent writers, journalists and defenders of freedom of expression in Viet Nam has further deteriorated. All writers released from prison in recent years continue to be placed under administrative detention. Some have been subjected to physical attacks and relentless harassment. New violent assaults, arbitrary arrests, unfair trials and unjust prison sentences have been recorded, with no respect for the rights of the defence and the independence of judges;

Shocked and indignant about the inhuman living conditions in labour camps, where prisoners of opinion are held in solitary confinement and/or incommunicado. Undernourished, deprived of medical care and hygiene, they have been attacked, humiliated and threatened by common law detainees. Among the victims: writer Tran Khai Thanh Thuy (f), who spent nine months in prison whilst suffering from tuberculosis and diabetes. Now released, she still bears noticeable scars on her face and leg as a result of ill-treatment in prison.

Protests the internment in a psychiatric hospital for her critical writings of Bui Kim Thanh (f), human rights lawyer and Internet writer, from early March to July 2008. She was previously held without charge in psychiatric detention from November 2006 to July 2007 for defending free of charge hundreds of Dan Oan (victims of injustice), women peasants arbitrarily dispossessed of their land. During her incarceration she was violently beaten and forcibly injected of unknown medication.

Deeply disturbed by the ongoing detention in forced labour camps of independent writers and journalists, condemned to heavy prison sentences at unfair trials followed by administrative detention for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and association. Their only ‘crime’ has been to write articles about corruption, the abuse of

authority and human rights violations, or to speak out against the repression of dissenting voices, and to grant interviews to the overseas media. Those detained for their critical writings include:

Alarmed by illegal ‘”people’s tribunals’’ where independent writers and journalists are denounced, blamed and humiliated by a hostile crowd organized by Party cadres and public security policemen. Among these victims: Le Thanh Tung, veteran journalist and Internet writer, ‘’tried’’ on 25 April 2008. He was accused of being a traitor for writing and publishing online several articles on the situation of human rights and democracy, and an account of his life, entitled ‘’Memoir of a Former Volunteer Fighter in the Vietnamese People’s Army’’.

Urges the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam’s government to:

1. release immediately and unconditionally all independent writers, journalists, and intellectuals currently detained for having exercised their right to freedom of expression;

2. cease all attacks, harassment and threats of arrest against those independent writers, journalists, and intellectuals;

3. improve conditions of detention in prisons and in camps, to allow sick prisoners to be hospitalized, to receive adequate medical care and to facilitate family visits ;

4. abolish censorship and lift all arbitrary restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of press, freedom of association and freedom to create and to publish.

International PEN

NGO in Consultative Status with ECOSOC

Appendix to the Contribution to the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism

5th Session of the Working Group of the UPR (4 – 15 May 2009)

Submission on the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

RAPID ACTION NETWORK

23 September 2008

RAN 47/08

VIETNAM: Crackdown on dissidents.

The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN is alarmed about an apparent crackdown on dissent in Vietnam , in which a number of writers have been arrested in recent weeks. This brings the total number of writers detained in Vietnam to sixteen. International PEN calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained in Vietnam for the peaceful exercise of their right to free expression, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory.

According to PEN’s information, a number of writers are amongst those to have been arrested as part of a crackdown on peaceful protests carried out by dissidents in recent weeks. The arrests are apparently part of a wider pattern of harassment and arrest by Vietnamese authorities of independent journalists, human rights activists, cyber dissidents, religious freedom advocates, and farmers protesting confiscation of their land. Those currently detained or under heavy surveillance include:

Nguyen Van Hai (aka Nguyen Hoang Hai/Dieu Cay): independent journalist and blogger, sentenced on 10 September 2008 to two and a half years-imprisonment by the Vietnamese People’s Court at Ho Chi Minh city for alleged tax fraud, although he is widely believed to be targeted for his criticism of Vietnamese government policy. He is known for his critical internet postings calling for greater democracy and human rights in Vietnam and his participation in protests against Chinese foreign policy. Dieu Cay was one of the founding members of the Club of Free Journalists (Cau Lac Bo Nha Bao Tu Do) in 2006.

Nguyen Xuan Nghia, poet and writer, member of the Hai Phong Association of writers and founding member of the banned democracy movement known as Block 8406, author of several online poems and articles, a recipient of the 2008 Hellman Hammet Award for Free Expression. Arrested on 11 September 2008. Held at the B14 labour camp in Ha Dong province, south of Hanoi .

Pham Van Troi, dissident writer and activist, known for his contributions to the underground dissident review Tu Do Dan Chu (Freedom and Democracy). Arrested on 10 September 2008 and detained at the B14 labour camp, in Ha Dong province, south of Hanoi .

Nguyen Van Tuc, farmer, poet and human rights defender, known for his numerous writings on social injustice and satirical poems published on overseas websites. Arrested on 10 September 2008 and detained at the B14 labour camp, in Ha Dong province, south of Hanoi .

Ngô Quỳnh, student and dissident writer, author of online dissenting articles, including ‘ Viet Nam needs to compile a new History-book’ and ‘Journey to Lang Son’s Dairy’, published on overseas websites. Arrested on 10 September 2008 and detained at the B14 labour camp, in Ha Dong province, south of Hanoi .

Tran Duc Thach, poet. Reportedly arrested on 10 September 2008, released the same day but remains under heavy surveillance.

Pham Thanh Nghien (f): Internet writer and independent journalist. Arrested on 11 September 2008, released later that day but remained under residential surveillance until her re-arrest on 17 September 2008. Thought to be held under Article 88 of the Criminal Code on charges of ‘propaganda against the state’.

- Expressing alarm at the recent crackdown on dissident in Vietnam , in which a number of writers have been detained;

- calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained for the peaceful exercise of their right to free expression, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Please note that there are no fax numbers available for the Vietnamese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for Vietnam in your country to forward your appeals. It would also be advantageous to ask your country’s diplomatic representatives in Vietnam to intervene in the case. For some Vietnamese embassies in the world: